Fukushima Nuclear Crisis Update for September 18th to September 20th, 2012

Here’s the latest of our news bulletins from the ongoing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Japan’s Energy Policy

Japan announced last Friday that it would completely abolish use of nuclear power by 2030, including limiting the lifetime of existing plants to 40 years and forbidding construction of new reactors. But by the middle of this week, it has essentially reversed that decision. The initial proposal stated that Japan would “mobilize every policy resource available to achieve the abolishment of nuclear power plants in the 2030s.” However, the document approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday instead said, “The government will promote energy and environment policy under constant examination and reviewing dialogue with affected local governments and the global community, as well as seeking understanding from the general public.” The original draft was included only as a “reference” attachment, and is not legally binding.

This week, operations began at the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), and the government swore in Shunichi Tanaka, the newly-appointed chair of Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which is the secretariat that will oversee the NRA. The new entities replace the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC), both of which were criticized for ineffectiveness and conflicts of interest in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. NISA operated under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), which actually promotes nuclear power in Japan. Yukio Edano, head of METI, acknowledged the agency’s failures, saying, “Unfortunately, the ministry failed to avoid the disaster and meet public expectations. Everyone in the ministry has to acknowledge that the abolishment of NISA is based on the lessons and reflections from the failure.”

Accordingly, both the NSC and NISA ceased operations this week. The NSC was first established in 1978; 34 years later, its Chairman, Haruki Madarame, admitted in the wake of the Fukushima crisis that the Commission had failed in its efforts to establish effective safety standards and prevent nuclear disaster. Madarame urged the new safety agency, the NRA, to avoid being influenced by the nuclear industry and previously established practices. (Source: NHK)

However, the majority of the 460 employees at the NRA come from either the NSC or NISA, leading some experts to ask how independent the Authority will actually be. The newly appointed chair of the NRC, Shinichi Tanaka, was once Deputy Director of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, which promotes nuclear power, and four of the five members of the Commission, including Tanaka, have accepted funds from the nuclear industry within the last few years. Public opposition has been significant, and opinion was split among members of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s own political party, prompting him to appoint the commission without Parliamentary approval, a rare move. A citizens’ group protested the new appointments, demonstrating in front of Noda’s office this week.

In a move that has angered many in the business community, Tanaka immediately announced that 48 idled nuclear reactors across the country will not be restarted until at least late spring, and possibly for up to 10 months, as the newly-created NRA draws up new safety standards. Tanaka said, “It is impossible to give the green light until we finish reviewing the current provisional standards [for reactivating reactors].” Currently, only two reactors are operating in Japan: #3 and #4 at Kansai Electric’s Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture. Despite dire predictions by the nuclear industry of widespread electricity outages and blackouts this summer, Japan’s power supply remained stable, even through peak demand periods during a heat wave in August. Tanaka criticized the government’s decision to restart the Oi reactors, saying, “The Oi nuclear plant was restarted based on political judgment, out of consideration for energy supply and demand during the summer. But the provisional standards are incomplete, allowing the plant to be restarted with no disaster-prevention measures in place.” During his inaugural ceremony, he acknowledged that the agency has a tough job ahead in regaining the trust of the Japanese public: “The most important thing is to recover confidence in the nuclear safety administration, which has reached rock-bottom.” Tanaka has promised transparency at the NRC, saying, “The commission intends to secure as much transparency as possible."

The President of Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd., Yoshihiko Kawai, said this week that completion of the Rokkasho Nuclear Reprocessing Plant in Aomori Prefecture will be delayed by one more year, and will not be finished until October 2013. The delay is expected to increase construction costs by 110 billion yen. The project, which was originally slated for completion by 1997, has now been delayed a whopping 19 times, and is expected to cost a total of 2.19 trillion yen ($28.11 billion), three times the initial estimate. Kawai blamed the delay on damage from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, as well as ongoing problems with a vitrification furnace. Reprocessing spent nuclear fuel was supposed to be a linchpin in the Japanese nuclear cycle, allowing plutonium to be extracted from spent fuel and reused in fast breeder reactors such as the Monju. However, the Rokkasho plant has long been plagued with problems and has never operated at full capacity. In the meantime, highly radioactive nuclear waste continues to build up in Rokkasho Village and at storage sites in Great Britain and France, where it has been shipped from nuclear power plants across Japan. Aomori Prefecture has threatened to send it back to the plants from which it came if reprocessing is not continued, in spite of the fact that the procedure will not be necessary if nuclear power is abolished.

The governor of Shizuoka Prefecture, Heita Kawakatsu, submitted a draft referendum on reactivating Chubu Electric’s Hamaoka nuclear power plant to the Prefectural Assembly this week. The prospect of reactivating the reactor there has raised considerable concern among residents who, fearing for their safety, gathered 165,000 signatures in support of the referendum. The governor expressed support, saying, “The demand reflects many prefectural residents’ feelings and I take it seriously. It’d be inappropriate if prefectural residents were deprived of an opportunity to express their opinions on the issue. I’d like you to deliberate on the bill so that a prefectural referendum can be held smoothly.” However, the assembly members have largely expressed reluctance, in part because of perceived threats to their own power. One said, “If a decision is left to a local referendum, then the assembly will lose its raison d’etre.”

My impression is that many Japanese politicians struggle to understand the meaning of the word "democracy", including the top representative...

My impression is that many Japanese politicians struggle to understand the meaning of the word "democracy", including the top representatives of the curent goverment and several members of the Shizuoka prefectural assembly, from both DPJ and LDP.
Many countries allow legally binding referendums and no one there thinks that, because of this, their parliaments lose their "raison d'etre".
It is possible that such members of the Shizuoka assembly are being pressured by their respective parties (DPJ and LDP are largely pro nuke) to deny their citizens a chance to express their will.